Alves double blow for United’s hopes

Middlesbrough 2 Manchester United 2

AFONSO ALVES will be the toast of the King’s Road this week. Having missed a succession of chances against Chelsea last week he found his scoring boots yesterday with a stunning brace of goals which has opened up the title race.

Of more pressing concern than the loss of two points to Ferguson will be the sight of Rio Ferdinand limping out of the Riverside and on to the United team bus wearing a protective boot on his left leg, having suffered a foot injury.

The full extent of the damage will not be known until Ferdinand has a scan today, but United’s defence had a porous look about it all day in a game Boro should have won.

Alves scored twice and missed a couple of other gilt-edged chances, while Jeremie Aliadiere and sub Tuncay Sanli also fluffed chances.

Boro boss Gareth Southgate said: “We have thrown it open in terms of the title race and that has got to be good for the league. Manchester United and Arsenal are probably better to watch, but Chelsea are a very resilient side.

“We have played all three in the last couple of weeks and given a good account of ourselves in each match, even though we have only picked up two points.”

The opening exchanges gave little indication of what was to come as the visitors sliced through Boro’s defence almost at will, and when Michael Carrick crossed from the byline for Ronaldo’s 37th goal in 39 starts this season, a sense of foreboding descended.

That was a false impression as Boro tore back, with Aliadiere firing wide when it was easier to convert, before Gary O’Neil’s long punt from the right flank caught the United defence napping and Alves nipped in for his first goal in nine games since his record-breaking £12million move to Teesside.

It was the first goal Ferguson’s men had conceded in the league in eight hours and 16 minutes, a surprising statistic bearing in mind Boro continued to find their way through the United back line with some regularity.

Stewart Downing, who enjoyed a fine match, saw a close-range effort blocked by Edwin van der Sar before Alves struck again in the 56th minute.

Wes Brown’s header ricocheted off Aliadiere into the Brazilian’s path and the striker did the rest with a consummate finish. Boro sensed blood and poured forward, with Alves missing from inside the six-yard box and Downing forcing the United keeper into another outstanding save.

Ferguson’s side showed real spirit to regroup and got their reward 16 minutes from time.

Ji-Sung Park cut past Andrew Taylor and teed up Rooney for his 17th goal of the season, the shot taking a deflection off defender David Wheater. Tuncay still had a terrific chance to secure all the points, but Van der Sar smothered his effort and United hung on.

Alves has certainly made his mark on this season’s title race having missed a trio of chances at Chelsea last week. “It was a dream come true to score against Manchester United, but don’t get me wrong, I want to do the same against other teams as well,” he said.

Over the past four seasons Boro have taken 30 points off the Big Four – easily the best record of any club outside the elite quartet.

Ferguson received a jolt, but it could have been so much worse against a side who have an unerring ability to raise their game against the top sides. Whether that is a compliment or a criticism depends on your point of view. But Chelsea fans will be delighted.